Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-09-15

their ponderous feet upon the project.
They said it was degrading to enc who
dealt in railway and steamboat and gov
eminent securities to have to drum up
trade like tailor. It was all
rignt if member OF O firm or
sn old and trusted employee should sug-
gest to e possible customer the advan-
tage Of dealing with their special house,
but system of "drummers," never, l
know of several firms whose members
have been suspended from the exchange
for periods OF six months and q year for
paying commissions to men bringing
them business from other cities. No one
would ever give any reason for this sb-
surd law except that drummers were IN
dignifed. It was not the brokers who
should 90 to that huge mountain, the
public, upon which all fatten; the public
should bow before the broker. The latter
wss evidently broken down under the
strain of watching and Visiting.
Now, what's the use of any committee
trying to pull false wool over the eyes of
the specializing lamb when an infusion of
q little honesty Wall street couldn't
stand very much is all that is needed to
attract the same crowds that formerly
sWarmed into the gorgeous salons and
parlors Vulgarly termed offices? The
men who are running the market now
have no stomachs, let alone souls. They
fleece their best customers. The courts
afford evidence of an instance of this
class. Although q certain broker was
getting thousands of dollars out of a
young and Gonhding customer in COM
missions every month, he could not re-
sist the temptation of going over his
books every night and ssddIing said
duffer with al the stock that he, the
broker, had bought for his own account
at high prices. Then he would
credit his own account with the
sales at high prices made for
his customer. In the end the duffer was
"broke," and when he accused his
broker, or more properly, breaker, of
fraud, the latter quietly refunded $780,
| 600, and then had the nerve to assure the
public that he never took 8 dollar belong
| ing to anybody. This man did more to
kill Wall street than any of his contem-
poraries, and there are plenty more like
him in the street to-day. They haven't
oeen discovered, that's all. If the Stock
Exchange wants business to come il
through its many open doors it will have
TO drive fraud out Of its tightly CLOSED
| windows. Open the windows and let the
bad air out! Throw little OF the ligh
of truth and honesty on your transac
tions, and the investing, not the specu
lating. public will hunt you up!
While speaking of respectable
brokers, want to detail scene l wit.
messed in one Of the most highly respect
able houses in the street few days ago
While talking with the head of the house
an order came from 8 customer to bu
, 10, coo shares Of -- below co. Th
price on the tape then was 50. tn
''highly respected" broker sent the orde
to his board member, with sn additions
memorandum reading: "Buy US 100
first" Before the message reached tn
= beard room the stock slumped to 564 an
D in few minutes we saw on the tape tn
q sale 0f two lots of 500 each 6
b 565. l made q mental wager the
r that that 1000 shares were for th
t house, and as the quotations came THO
e and fast, 1000, 81; 800, 59!; 1000, 59i
s 500, 594 1000 500, and so on until tn
s steady purchase of 10000 had sent tn
d price up to 60, l knew that the custom
I er's order mad been used to guarantee tn
0 profit on the FIRMS little speculation
n And this was one of those houses wher
/. members brag that they never specular
D on their own account. "Our business
8 ali commission, sir" says the respectful
l. manager. owe never have any intere
t in the market" That sort of thing
d done in nearly every commission office
= Wall street.
/ WILLIAM F. G. SHANKS.